PNP-7 seize almost 150 firearms in 1st qrtr
(08 April) - Almost 150 firearms were confiscated by the police in Central Visayas for the first quarter of this year as it strengthens its efforts to further reduce crime rate in the region.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 Regional Operations and Planning Division Chief P/Supt. Petronelli Baldebrin in the presentation of the agency’s first quarter accomplishment report showed that from January to March, 65 high-powered and 79 low-powered firearms were confiscated by the police either through ongoing operations or security checkpoints.
“A total of 144 firearms were confiscated in the region,” Baldebrin bared.
The PRO-7 hailed the reduction of crime volume in the four provinces of Cebu,Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor that encompass the Central Visayas Region.
From an average monthly crime rate of 39.46 percent for the first two months in 2010, this went down to 30.34 percent of the same period this year.
Both index and non-index crimes also showed a decrease in volume. Index crimes went down from 3,933 incidents for the first two months last year to 3,083 cases in the same period this year while non-index crimes registered a 26 percent reduction from 1,614 cases down to 1,182 from January to February of 2010 and 2011, respectively, the power point presentation report revealed.
Among the other accomplishments cited by the PRO-7 are the neutralization of 306 criminals in the list of its Most Wanted Person and the recovery of high-end carnapped vehicles by the Regional Highway Patrol Group.
The PRO-7 also conducted 263 operations against illegal logging activities and arrested 15 persons in the process within the first three months of this year.
“Police confiscated 3,027 board feet of teek wood with a total value worth P223,882,” Baldebrin reported.
Pres. Benigno Aquino III earlier this year ordered an intensified fight against illegal logging amid landslides and floods that hit some areas in the country.
In the campaign against illegal fishing, the PRO-7 157 illegal fishers and confiscated 10,601 blasting caps with a total value of P9,676,138.
PRO-7 Regional Director Ager Ontog Jr. meanwhile, commended his men on the field that their anti-criminality measures yielded positive results.
“We will try and do our best to perform more so that crime rate will further be reduced,” Ontog said even as he added that the tag of the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the second most corrupt government institution is unfair.
In The recent Pulse Asia Survey, the PNP ranked second to the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the most corrupt government office.
“We take this as a challenge to improve our processes and procedures so that the citizens will see us as an agency of integrity whose mission is to serve the people,” Ontog stressed. (PIA-Cebu/Fayette C. Rinen)
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PAMB to approve Bantayan Island Wilderness Area Plan
By: Hazel F. Gloria
Cebu City, April 8 (PIA) – The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) is scheduled to complete and approve the general management plan for the Bantayan Island Wilderness Area (BIWA), a protected area by August 2011.
Presidential Proclamation 2151 dated December 29, 1981 declared Bantayan Island as Wilderness Area.
It has a total land area of 14,183.50 hectares covering three municipalities of Santa Fe, Bantayan, and Madridejos, with a total population of 129,154.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) regional executive director, Maximo Dichoso
said that the Management Plan of BIWA is required by the Court Order issued by RTC Judge Marilyn Lagura-Yap last August 2009 for the lifting of the suspension of the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
Dichoso emphasized that the plan has to go through an objective and impartial scrutiny of the PAMB while soliciting inputs from the local government officials and other concerned stakeholders.
“The role of the local government officials and other stakeholders is very critical here as we would want to have a plan which is fully “owned” by the residents of Bantayan Island after an exhaustive public consultations or dialogues with all the stakeholders of the Island,” Dichoso added.
The Management Plan of BIWA must be consistent and complements the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of the three municipalities.
It also outlines management principles for the area and specify management zones for the protection, conservation and preservation of the protected area,” Dichoso declared.
Dichoso articulated that the plan includes a detailed account of its biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) resources, and its historical, cultural, social, and economic backgrounds and characteristics.
The utmost priority value of a protected area for the purpose of conservation and protection is its biodiversity, and for the enjoyment and for sustainable use of the community, this is learned.
“The delineation and assessment of structures within the 20-meter easement zone within the island is almost complete,” Dichoso added.
Bantayan Mayor Ian Chris Escario inquired if the issuance of business permits by local government units is suspended to which Dichoso replied that such issuance was not mentioned in the Court Order.
“We will also try to analyze the opportunities and problems, existing and potential, that affect the protected area including current and future pressures,” Dichoso concluded. (PIA-7/HFG with data from Ed Llamedo)